Squeezable-handle cleaning device having brush-sponge head



J. M. HIMES ETAL 3,101,506

SQUEEZABLE-HANDLE CLEANING DEVICE HAVING BRUSH-SPONGE HEAD Aug. 27, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fl ca. 3

INVENTORS Jot-m M. Humas RALPH F. Gmams I03 BY ATTORNEY g- 1963 J. M. HIMES ETAL 3,

SQUEEZABLE-HANDLE CLEANING DEVICE HAVING BRUSH-SPONGE HEAD Filed June 2, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENTORS JOHN Hmes RALPH F. GARMS AT'TQRNELY Aug. 27, 1963 J. M. HIMES ETAL 3,101,506

SQUEEZABLE-HANDLE CLEANING DEVICE HAVING BRUSH-SPONGE HEAD 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 2, 1960 am f/rbm wl l l lllil I..\\\ I I w @m y m .m Qv @Q 0 z T v S INVENTORS don-m M. H IMES RALPH F. GARMS BY 7% W A-r-roanev 27, 1963 J. M. HIMES ETAL 3,101,506

SQUEEZABLE-HANDLE CLEANING DEVICE HAVING BRUSH-SPONGE HEAD Filed June 2, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS dorm M. t-hmes RALPH F. GARMS ATTORNEY tion and opens when pressure is With the cap removed the bladder may be United States Patent 3,101,506 I SQUEEZABLE-HANDLE CLEANING DEVKCE HAVING BRUSH-SPQNGE HEAD John M. Himes, Hartford, and Ralph F. Garms, Brookfield, Wis, assignors to E. R. Wagner Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Win, a corporation of Wisconsin Filed June 2, 1960, Ser. No. 33,457 3 Claims. (Cl. 15-532) .T his invention relates to a cleaning device comprising a scrubbing unit having a brush, a sponge like cleaning fluid dispenser, and a temporary fluid storage bladder which may be used as a unit or may be connected to and supplied by a portable cleaning fluid supply tank.

The cleaning of furniture or car upholstery, woodwork, draperies, walls, etc., has and tiring job. Much time is wasted in moving the brush or sponge back and forth between the cleaning solution and the work area. While for small areas sufficient cleaning fluid can be contained in such unit, it is not convenient for large areas to mount [the entire cleaning fluid supply directly on the scrubbing unit because this greatly increases its bulk and weight, thereby making the task even more tiring than it usually is.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved cleaning device which eliminates or greatly reduces the time wasting and fatigue causing factors inherent in common devices used for cleaning upholstery, woodwork, etc., and which may be conveniently used on small or large areas.

Another object is to provide such a cleaning device which is reliable and simple to operate.

A further object is to provide such an improved cleaning device which is low in cost.

These objects are accomplished by providing a scrubbing unit having a brush-and-sponge-carrying head with a handle containing a bladder for temporary storage of cleaning fluid. The handle has a cap with a one way valve inlet conduit or hose connector adapted to be connected by the hose or tube to a portable fluid supply tank. The head has an outlet valve which is biased to closed posiexerted on such rubber bladder. filled with a supply of cleaning fluid suflicient for smaller areas. With the cap replaced, squeezing the exposed portion of the bladder forces desired amounts of fluid out of the bladder past the outlet valve where the fluid is spread by channels on the head onto the sponge. When the external pressure on the bladder is released air will be admitted through the inlet valve to permit the bladder to expand for the next ejection. However, when the inlet conduit is connected by a tube to the portable supply tank a fresh supply of cleaning fluid is sucked from such supply tank into the bladder thereby replacing cleaning fluid so expulsed so that large areas maybe cleaned without removing the cap. The supply tank is provided with a shoulder strap so that it is readily carried by theperson doing the cleaning while leaving both hands and arms free to manipulate the scrubber.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in or be apparent from the specification and claims, obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings in'which:

7 FIG. 1 is a perspective, view of a scrubber embodying the invention attached to a cleaning fluid supply tank;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tank having the bottom portion broken away to show the sloping tank floor;

FIG. 3 is a sectional end view of [the tank taken on line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the tank;

ddhiiflti Patented Aug. 27, 1963 ice FIG. 5 is a sectionalview of the tank cap taken on line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of carried in the tank cap; 1 FIG. 7 is a side view in partial section of the scrubber;

FIG. 8 is a partial side view of the scrubber showing a portion of the bladder exposed through an opening in the handle wall; FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of "the scrubber handle taken online 9-9 in FIG. 7;

the slit valve member FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on line 10-40 in FIG. 7; 1

FIG. 11 is a cross sectlonal view of the handle taken on line 11-41 in FIG. 8;

long been a time consuming nally extending grooves as will I It has a hand grip portion 47 to seal that end of the bladder.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the scrubber head; FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the scrubber head with brush and sponge removed; and

FIG. 14 is a partial sectional side view of, the scrubber head taken on line 14-14 in FIG. 12.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a scrubber or scrubbing unit indicated generally-at 10 is shown'in FIG. 1 attached by a flexible conduit 12 to a portable supply tank indicated generally at 14. 'llhe scrubbing unit 10, as shown in FIG. 7 may be used independently of the supply tank and is comprised of .a hollow handle 18 and la scouring head 16. The dish shaped base which is molded integrally withhollow handle 18. The handle and the head are separated by an integral wall 15 having a nipple 17 projecting into the hollow handle and a neck 19 projects. toward the head 16. An outlet passage 36 is integrally molded within the nipple 17 and neck 19 and connects the hollow handle jor headed carrying portion with the interior of the head 16. Brush holder 20 is adhered to the head 16. This has a tubular projection 38 which telescopes over the downstream end of neck 19 and butts against an annular shoulder 42 on the neck 19. An apertured partition 44 molde'dinto projection 38 seats against the end 47 on the neck 19 to form a valve chamber 46 in conduit 36. A valve 48 in chamber 46 is biased by spring 49 to closed position against downwardly facing valve seat 51. The. inside periphery of valve chamber 46 has longitudi- 50 (see FIG. 10) which provide a flow path around valve 48 when the valve is open. These grooves insure that, even if the valve and valve housing tolerances are not closely held, flow through chamber 46 will not be obstructed.

A rubber bladder 45 is mounted in hollow handle 18. which projects in opening 51 (see FIG. 8) in the handle wall, and open neck 53 which tightly fits over he nipple 17 and connects the bladder to passage 36 and valve chamber 46. The outer end of the bladder has a flared mouth '67 which overlaps the end of the handle 18 and cooper-ates with a cap 86 when it is screwed onto the threaded end 7 of the handle It is desirable to supply the bladder with internal reinforcing ribs 57 (see FIG. 11) to increase its ability to return to normal shape after being squeezed.

Cap 86 has a mounting nipple $7 with a bladder inlet 88 opening therethrough. A rubber valve 90 fits over the inside end of the nipple'87 and closes the inlet 88 against outward flow; the valve 90 having a normally closed slit 91 to prow'de such function.

When the hand grip portion 47 of the bladder is squeezed, with a force sufficient to overcome spring 49, cleaning fluid in the bladder is forced through valve 48 into and through valve chamber 46 and into l3. manifold chamber 55 within the projection 38. The bottom of chamber 55 is formed by a disc 52 cemented in place.

From the chamber 55 radial passages 54 extend to cirhead 16 is a circularcumferential passages 56 to distribute the cleaning fluid evenly over a sponge 22 which is glued to the bottom 21 of the brush holder 20. (See FIGS. 13 and 14.)

The brush holder 20 has its bottom shaped as shown in FIG. 13 to provide an annular recess 58 for a circular brush and a pair of spaced radial extending recesses 60 for straight brush segments. A circular brush 62 with its bristles held in a metal retainer 64 is press-fitted into the recess 58 and engaged by dots 66 on the inner wall of the recess. Dots 66- are sized and placed to flex the outer wall to permit insertion and removal of the brush. Straight brushes 68 and 70 with bristles held in metal retainers 72 are press-fitted into the recesses 60 and held by dots 74 which project. inwardly from flexible thin wall portions 76 formed by segmental openings 7 8 molded in the bottom 21. The brushes are held in place because the thin wall portions 76 are flexed outwardly thereby providing a springing engagement between the brush retainers and the dots. Openings 80 are provided in sponge 22 to permit brushes 6% and 70 to project therethrough.

When the scrubber is used without a tank, cap 86 may be removed and the bladder filled with a cleaning fluid.

With the cap replaced each squeeze of portion 47 distributes cleaning fluid to the sponge 22 when it is worked onto the material being cleaned. Between squeezes the valve slit 91 will permit air to enter the bladder (without loss of fluid) so that the next squeeze can be made.

The scrubber, as above described, may be used alone,

but due to the small cleaning fluid capacity of bladder 45 it is desirable when cleaning large areas to connect it to the tank 14 which then serves as the primary supply of cleaning fluid. This connection is made through a flexible conduit 12 which fits over the outer end of the nipple 87 and leads to tank 14. Tank 14 consists generally of a top 94- which seats on and closes a walled bottom 96. The top has a peripheral groove 98 molded therein which receives the upper edges 100 of the walls of the bottom 96, so that when the top and bottom are glued together a watertight seal is effected.

The tank floor 102 is sloped downwardly toward one corner 3 of the tank so that this low corner of the tank contains cleaning fluid until the tank is nearly completely empty. A cleaner intake tube 104 is molded into the top and extends down to a point just above the low corner of the tank floor. Intake tube 104- communicates with tank outlet fitting 106 which is also molded into the top of the tank and the flexible supply conduit 12 fits over fitting 106 so that when the bladder in the scrubber is squeezed and released a supply of cleaning fluid is sucked from the tank and passed through slit valve 91 to the bladder. Tank top 94 also has a depression 108 molded therein which provides a convenient place to lay the scrubber when it is not in use.

A filler cap 110 screws onto a threaded protuberance M2 molded into the tank top. Cap 110 has a vent opening 114 therein which is normally closed by rubber disc 11-6 having a slit valve 118 (see FIG. 6) therein. Slit valve 118 permits ingress of air when the pressure inside the tank drops below atmospheric pressure.

The tank bottom has strap attachers 120 molded on its exterior near its upper edges and a one piece strap 122 is connected to the attachers 120 for ease of carrying. The strap is passed through :attachers 120 and riveted at 123 so that strap portion 125 may be used as a handle or strap portion 127 may serve as a shoulder strap.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention had been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A scrubbing unit comprising, a circular head having a bottom provided with an annular peripheral recess, a circular brush having a bristle retainer seated in said recess, said bottom inwardly of said recess having radially extending downwardly opening passageways, a disc-like sponge cemented to said bottom within the confines of said brush and overlying said passageways, a handle attached to said head, and depressible bladder means Within said handle to eject a cleaning fluid into said passageways and onto said sponge, said bottom having at least one straight recess disposed within the confines of said annular peripheral recess, and a straight brush having a bristle retainer seated within said straight recess, there being an opening in said sponge accommodating said straight brush.

2. A scrubbing unit according to claim 1 in which said recesses have flexible wall sections with sufiicient resilience to permit insertion of said brush retainers and to supply frictional holding rneans therefior.

3. A scrubbing unit comprising, a tubular handle provided with a side opening, a head integral with one end of said handle, a member between said handle and head having a restricted passage therethrough, a resilient tubular bladder positioned within and supported substantially throughout its outer surface by said handle and having a depressible portion overlying said opening, said bladder having an outlet end connected to said passage and an inlet end adjacent the opposite end of said handle, a valve in said passage springabiased to a closed position, an annular disc at the outlet end of said passage :fiorming a reservoir between said valve and the outlet of said passage, a brush and sponge holder secured to said head, said holder having a number of radially extending pass-ages connected to said reservoir and open along one side, a brush and sponge secured to said holder, said sponge ovenlying the opening passages and cap means closing the opposite end of said handle whereby on depressing said depressible portion liquid in said bladder will be fiorced into said reservoir for distribution by said passages to said sponge, said cap means including a resilient check valve for allowing the passage of air or fluid into the bladder, and said holder including arcuate passages connected to the outer ends Of the radial passages to distribute (liquid to the sponge.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 141,522 Thompson Aug. 5, 1873 473,310 Goldman Apr. 19, 1892 957,566 Knickerbocker MaylO, 1910 1,445,643 Peron Feb. 20, 1923 2,116,864 Fehrebaeh May 10, 1938 2,310,006 Wisner Feb. 2, 1943 2,424,151 Clark et al. July1'5, 1947 "2,518,765 Ecker Aug. 15, 1950 2,567,764 Davies Sept. 11, 1951 2,785,425 Lenk Mar. 1 9, 1957 2,789,298 Peterson Apr. 23, 1957 2,923,441 McOonno'hie Feb. 2, 1960 2,932,043 Bischolf Apr. 12, 1960' 2,932,840 Lathorp Apr. 19, 1960 2,976,560 Turner Mar. 28, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 207,495 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1940 

1. A SCRUBBING UNIT COMPRISING, A CIRCULAR HEAD HAVING A BOTTOM PROVIDED WITH AN ANNULAR PERIPHERAL RECESS, A CIRCULAR BRUSH HAVING A BRISTLE RETAINER SEATED IN SAID RECESS, SAID BOTTOM INWARDLY OF SAID RECESS HAVING RADIALLY EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY OPENING PASSAGEWAYS, A DISC-LIKE SPONGE CEMENTED TO SAID BOTTOM WITHIN THE CONFINES OF SAID BRUSH AND OVERLYING SAID PASSAGEWAYS, A HANDLE ATTACHED TO SAID HEAD, AND DEPRESSIBLE BLADDER MEANS WITHIN SAID HANDLE TO EJECT A CLEANING FLUID INTO SAID PASSAGEWAYS AND ONTO SAID SPONGE, SAID BOTTOM HAVING AT LEAST ONE STRAIGHT RECESS DISPOSED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF SAID ANNULAR PERIPHERAL RECESS, AND A STRAIGHT BRUSH HAVING A BRISTLE RETAINER SEATED WITHIN SAID STRAIGHT RECESS, THERE BEING AN OPENING IN SAID SPONGE ACCOMMODATING SAID STRAIGHT BRUSH. 